NFL Trade Bait: Where Might Kyle Orton Land in 2011?

The Denver Broncos are ready to start the Tim Tebow era in Colorado, and that means they no longer have any use for Kyle Orton. Their price for the team that wants him, a second-round draft pick and that price seems steep when you consider the fact that Orton doesn't do any one thing great.

While he's an adept passer, he lacks any type of mobility in the pocket—so he's often at risk of being sacked...a lot.

He's got great instincts in the redzone, but he can be hit or miss outside the 20's.

His ability to find the open target, and hit him in stride is pretty good, but he's every bit as likely to play it safe and rely on making the short throws all game long. Which, after a while will be sniffed out by opposing defenses—allowing them to cheat up and break-up many a pass play.

Even with all that, though, his 2010 stats were still better than you might have guessed.

He ranked in the upper half of the league in nearly every conceivable passers category—including total yards (3,653), interceptions thrown (4), yards gained per attempt, quarterback rating (87.5), and completions. His problem this year was a lack of protection by the offensive line.

Orton routinely found himself running for his life—which isn't his strong suit—and that meant a lot of yards lost due to bad sacks, and an inability to get out of his own way.

If a team can give Orton a decent line and a more consistent running game, he can be a serviceable quarterback and there are plenty of teams out there that could use him as a good insurance policy against injury or as a possible stop-gap until a more favorable alternative can be acquired.

Tennessee, Arizona, Carolina, Washington, and Miami all come to mind as possibilities as each of them have issues at the quarterback position— all could do much worse than Orton.

Denver isn't likely to get their second-round asking price but, if they're willing to bend—perhaps a third-rounder will suffice—they should have no problem finding a new home for Orton.

With Josh McDaniels Out, Who Might Be The Next Head Coach In Denver?

For many, the timing of Josh McDaniels firing was curious. After all, it was just a week ago that he was getting a 'vote of confidence' from Broncos owner, Pat Bowlen—well,  he seemed secure through the end of the season at least.

So when the Broncos did an about-face and fired Josh McDaniels today, it came as a surprise to a great many. But, given the trail of idiocy and incompetence that McDaniels has left in his wake, you'd wonder not why they fired him at this point, but why they didn't fire him a lot sooner.

The ink on McDaniels contract had barely dried before he was alienating both his starting quarterback (Jay Cutler) and his star wide receiver (Brandon Marshall).  It was clear he arrived with a plan in hand and that plan didn't include his leading receiver or his Pro Bowl quarterback.

By the time the smoke cleared, neither Marshall, nor Cutler would be a part of the team and Kyle Orton was hailed as the future of Bronco's football—at least until McDaniels could find someone better to take over the job.

The moves seemed comical at the time and it was tough not to laugh and wonder if Pat Bowlen (the Broncos' owner) didn't need to be relieved of his duties as well because, obviously, he had signed off on a guy who wasn't ready to run a mile, much less a team.

While the team got off to a hot start in 2009, posting a 6-0 record, the wheels began to come off shortly after and things have continued to go badly ever since.

The NFL draft saw McDaniels gambling the future of the franchise on Tim Tebow. A player whom many felt was a project, at best and who, to this point, hasn't made a real impact.

Then there was the video-taping incident. After that matter, it seemed the writing was on the wall for McDaniels and his future prospects in Denver—he had none.

So, with McDaniels out, what direction do the Broncos go in now?

Eric Studesville will take over the job in the interim, but you have to figure that Bowlen will be looking to fill out the job with an experienced winner this time. Both Jon Gruden and Bill Cowher's name are already being mentioned, but neither seem to be in a hurry to leave their cushy booth jobs. Which means that Bowlen will likely have to filter his way through the NFL's qualified ranks of assistant coaches.

Ron Rivera, the Chargers current and Chicago's former, defensive coordinator is a possibility. He's a smart guy with intimate knowledge of both the 3-4 and the 4-3 defensive scheme so his acumen would come in handy when considering the best personnel for running a defense. Even more, he's been around some great minds—both in Chicago and Philadelphia (he coached under the great Buddy Ryan)—and should be considered as a possibility. 

Perry Fewell is another name that could gain some play. He's the Giants current defensive coordinator and is well-respected amongst players and coaches in the league for his ability to build solid defenses.

Sean McDermott is another long-shot. He's currently serving as the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles and, while he's done a fine job, he may lack the overall experience that Denver needs at this point—despite having coached under both Brad Childress and Steve Spagnuolo. He may need another season or two before he is proven.

Either way, the Bronco's are back to square one. 

Related articles

• Josh McDaniels fired as head coach of Denver Broncos (sports.espn.go.com)
• Broncos fire Josh McDaniels (profootballtalk.nbcsports.com)

It Seems Like Everyone, Except The Denver Broncos, Has Signed Tim Tebow

I'm perplexed. No, really, I am.

The Denver Broncos, their fans, and players have done nothing but glow about Tim Tebow. As a matter of fact, the team has been absolutely over-the-moon about their 2010 NFL Draft selection—the guy they traded away three draft picks to be able to move up and snag him at No. 25.

Coach Josh McDaniels has been overwhelmingly optimistic about what Tebow will add to the Bronco's offense and, quite frankly, despite the fact that Tebow has never played a down of pro football, you have to get the sense that as a first-round selection, he will not be warming the bench in Denver for long.

He'll play this season. Bet on it. He will find his way onto the field in 2010 and, if he performs well, say goodbye to Kyle Orton in 2011. They love Tebow that much in Denver—even former quarterback, John Elway, has spoken of how impressed  he is with the demeanor of the ex-Florida quarterback.

Nike gave him his own shoe—decked in the orange and blue he so adored as a Gator. EA Sports made him the cover athlete for their 2011 NCAA Football game. Even the underwear giant, Jockey, signed him to a lucrative sponsorship deal to model their signature undergarments.

I say all of that, to say this, why haven't the Denver Broncos signed their prized player yet? Everyone else has, what on earth could be their hold up?

Could it be that the Broncos don't want to end up overpaying him based on his obvious popularity?

I mean, Tebow may become one of the NFL's most recognizable faces but, the truth of the matter is, he likely never should have been selected in the first-round. His selection at 25 was surprising to the many analysts and experts who thought he was better served as a late-second or early-third round player.
Their critique of him was not based on his personality but on his overall potential as a quarterback in the league.

He may prove many wrong by the time it's all said and done, but, what he's entitled to is a contract that guarantees him $8 million—nothing more. Will his handlers try and angle for more?

Tebow has already made it clear that he does not wish to hold out and the Denver Broncos are set to start camp tomorrow—you do the math. By all accounts, this should be a done deal by Wednesday. If it's not, I would be greatly surprised.

However, if for some reason he isn't able to get there by then, he could always kill some time by doing another autograph session. I hear those have been pretty popular for him.